Introduction to Flexibility

The three most important parts in aerobics conditioning are the cardiovascular work, strengthening and flexibility training. Many people stress the importance of getting fit and developing muscular strength but they almost completely forget about flexibility. However, as you age, you should be the first to appreciate the incredible benefits of flexibility especially when your body gets stiffer. Athletes know it well: they cannot improve their performance without a sensible flexibility program. Common sense tells us how vital it is for us all to optimize functional movement in daily life. Flexibility training can develop and maintain your range of motion, but not only that, it may also help prevent and treat injuries. To work on flexibility is so crucial that even the American College of Sports Medicine recommends flexibility training for the major muscle groups, two to three days per week.

Think about how your muscles work. Your skeleton is what your body is built on. Without muscles, your skeleton would not move even a few inches. It is the muscles that make you move around. This means that you are using your muscles constantly, may you be aware of it or not.

When you are using your muscles, you contract them. The more you contract them, the more your reduce their size in length and increase their size in volume. Bigger muscles mean a diminution in your range of motion, except if you stretch them proportionally. In a few words, the more you use your muscles, the more you should be stretching them so that they can regain their original length.

Since muscles work in pairs, stretching and strengthening then stretching again each pair will help keeping the muscular balance in your body and develop good posture, i.e., abdominal muscles with back muscles, quads with hamstrings, biceps with triceps, etc.

It can also helps to avoid only one group of muscles to be overdeveloped. You should be using your muscles evenly, therefore contributing to muscle balance. Too much abdominal work might make your back bend over and your shoulders slouch. If you are sited all day, and in order to restore your muscle balance, it would be a good idea to stretch your hamstrings that must be very tight, and tone your quads that you barely use.

Understanding balanced positions develop a kinesthetic awareness of your body postures during movements, and develop strong, yet relaxed muscles, and flexible joints. You should spend sometime contracting muscles after muscles then stretching them in order to comprehend how your body works and reacts to physical activity.

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